64 – Shattered Glass (2003)

Shattered Glass is a fairly small movie, and I think that may have turned some people off. The tagline “The true story that shocked a nation.” promises a scope that frankly is not delivered upon. That, however, is a fault of the marketing department, not the movie.

The movie itself keeps itself small but focuses on the characters extremely well. The cast is large, and the possibility to muddle up the story is certainly there. Instead the story is kept simple and streamlined, and that is perhaps the greatest thing about this movie, its defining feature. I never felt lost, or that the movie was going on too well. We always knew who feels what and why they feel that way.

The acting in the movie is very high quality. Hank Azaria (best known as the voice of Apu, Chief Wiggum, Moe, and many others on The Simpsons) is especially good; when we see his character (the editor of the magazine where the movie is set) we have absolutely no doubt as to why the characters all respect and love him. We as the audience feel that we trust him. On the flip side when Peter Sarsgaard’s character is promoted to the editor and Azaria’s character is fired we instantly feel squemish about Peter, and angry that Azaria is gone. Our feelings perfectly mirror those of the characters. This is because of both good writing and excellent acting.

Hayden Christensen, most commonly known as Anakin from the Attack of the Clonesand Revenge of the Sith, has never been seen as a great actor. He has an awkwardness and stiffness about him that has kept him back from what he could possibly do. In this movie he puts that to good use as the title character, a reporter accused of making up his stories. His role was perfectly cast. Good job casting director.

OVERALL

Shattered Glass is a small, quick, and neat-as-a-pin movie. It is efficient and to the point, and is thoroughly engrossing. The cast works well together and perform well, Hank Azaria, Peter Sarsgaard, and Hayden Christensen being the standouts. The movie holds interest extremely well. I highly recommend this.